Ugh.

How can we allow doctors to lie to patients and the parents of patients?
How can we exclude a human being from having any input in a decision that extremely affects his or her life?
How can we deny people the ability to be themselves?
Why is it okay for someone to call an intersex child a "sexual freak"?

I'm confused. I don't get it. Society bothers me so much. 

 Reading the two chapters in Anne Fausto-Sterling's book really opened my eyes. I found myself becoming mad. I hate that society forces a group of people to be something they may not even want to be. Who gives anyone the right to decide what's right and what's wrong in the case of gender and sex? Fausto-Sterling describes doctors that do just this. The doctors play "God" by choosing the sexual identity of a child. What really shocked me is that they would often choose the sexual identity for the child without giving parents much say in the matter. As exemplified in Fausto-Sterling's book, one mother refused surgery to alter her child's sex, but the doctor performed the surgery anyway. How is that legal? How is that ethical? We consider ourselves so progressive. We're in the 21st century, 2020, yet our doctors are lying to their patients. Our doctors are forcing patients to fit neatly into one of two categories. If we're so progressive, why can't we just accept people for who they are?

Acceptance is a really big deal to me. I cannot express how much I wish that people would be more accepting of individuals that do not fit into typical societal norms. I think it's a shame that so many people have to hide aspects of themselves because those aspects are socially stigmatized. I know that I am somewhat of an idealist, but I just want everyone to be able to be who they are. Why is society so threatened by what's natural? Sometimes people are born as intersex individuals. Why can't we have a third sex? Sure it would shift power dynamics and cause a reconfiguration of the gender system, but would this be a bad occurrence?

I know I'm kind of rambling, but so many parts of the practices regarding intersex individuals as described in Anne Fausto-Sterling's book disgust me. From childhood, American children are taught they can be whoever and whatever they want to be. Still, we put constraints on people's identity.

My questions are who gets to choose, what gives them the authority, and why should we listen to them anyway.

Is the idea of change so horrifying?